WTF Stories of the Week

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I probably would have flat-out punched a cop at the time my mom was in hospice. I wouldn't have even noticed I was doing it.

And when you are subsequently arrested for assault on a police officer, would you expect to be let off?

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by katiesue

Nothing wrong with being grief stricken. But if you're so upset you can't think rationally, then you shouldn't be driving a car.

If you got a call that Madz was in taken to the hospital in critical condition, would you be calm and rational enough to call someone and ask them to drive you?

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Also the traits of someone strung out on any number of drugs.

I'm sorry. I missed that part of the article where they said he was under the influence. What drugs was he found with? I don't have time to read through it again.

If you would have punched a cop doing his job, I wouldn't give you a lot of sympathy. Your own grief is not an excuse to break the law and assault someone; ESPECIALLY law enforcement.

Again, what would you do if it were you in this situation?

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

And when you are subsequently arrested for assault on a police officer, would you expect to be let off?

Nope. However, I would expect an officer to actually listen to me first and assist from there, but if he stood in my way.... When someone is grief-stricken, it is pretty damned apparent that they're not making it up as an excuse just to run red lights.

Sorry that I have compassion and a tendency to lean towards the side of someone who is losing/lost someone.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Nope. However, I would expect an officer to actually listen to me first and assist from there. When someone is grief-stricken, it is pretty damned apparent that they're not making it up as an excuse just to run red lights.

The problem is, as Kevy pointed out, the difference between someone who is irrational because they're grief stricken, and irrational because of some other reason (e.g, on drugs, hates cops, is pissed at his wife for making him late to his appointment for a regular checkup) is not particularly apparent when someone is rushing out of a car, aggressively approaching you and yelling. A cop HAS to treat them all the same, there is no other option. And until someone calms down and is able to rationally explain what's going on, the cop treats them as an irrational person. They can't afford to differentiate between types of irrationality.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Again, what would you do if it were you in this situation?

Again, it is irrelevant. Even if I did punch him, arresting me would be the correct response whether I agreed with it at the time.

Every time a red light was run this man was saying "my needs are worth risking the death of other people." Can I understand how a person could get to that state of mind? Sure. Do I have sympathy for it. Sure. There are tons of reasons someone might behave irrationally where I suspect you wouldn't view that as an excuse while understanding how they could get that way, I don't really see this as all that different.

Does that mean the correct response is "oh you poor thing, you go on your and we'll talk some other time"? No, not really.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I'm sorry. I missed that part of the article where they said he was under the influence. What drugs was he found with? I don't have time to read through it again.

To clarify, I wasn't saying that the individual WAS on drugs; I meant that he was acting in a behavior that was VERY SIMILAR to someone who was on drugs. Hence my support for law enforcement.

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Again, what would you do if it were you in this situation?

I would NOT run red lights and blown stop signs as recklessly as he did. Although I would probably speed.

When a cop car came up behind me with it's lights on, I would probably stop and explain THEN what was going on: not wait until I got to the hospital.

I have been in this type of situation, so I know what I would do. My concern for a dying loved one does not outweigh the safety of others.

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Sorry that I have compassion and a tendency to lean towards the side of someone who is losing/lost someone.

With whom would your compassion lie if when he was was running one of those red lights he broadsided a car and somebody in that car died?

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by Alex

Every time a red light was run this man was saying "my needs are worth risking the death of other people."

That's exactly the way I feel about speeders who weave in and out of lanes in heavy traffic, just because they have a few personal issues with patience and want to save 10 minutes, especially with a conscious decision to do so (not under duress, etc.). Same goes for people who insist on tweeting/texting while driving. Their eyes aren't on the road while doing that. Again, that's a needless conscious decision that can end in tragedy.

Does that mean the correct response is "oh you poor thing, you go on your and we'll talk some other time"? No, not really.

I just feel that the cop should have shown at least SOME compassion once he was aware of the situation, instead of consistently nagging at the guy.

Oh, and in regards to some other various comments that I read, I also want to say that just because someone is an NFL player, doesn't automatically make them a jerk, as well as someone being a cop automatically make them a saint.

[katiesue]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

If you got a call that Madz was in taken to the hospital in critical condition, would you be calm and rational enough to call someone and ask them to drive you?

I would definately call someone to drive me if I was that upset and Madz was hurt, even if it ment calling and waiting for a cab. Because if I die on the way there - it's not going to be very helpful.

I have been in this situation and had to drive over 600 miles to even get to the hospital - but I didn't drive like a manaic to do so. And I was pulled over on the way home for speeding, and I took my ticket and said thank you as I was obviously speeding and the officer was just doing his job.

Last year in a smaller town near my hometown, a girl and her boyfriend were shot and killed by her ex. Her brother jumped in a car and drove to be with his mom, late at night and obvliously upset, and ended up wrapping his car around a tree and dying. So now the mother has no children.